Role Reversal
by ARMV7
Summary: Ever wonder what would happen if Cinder and Ruby switched bodies? Well wait no more! Art / fic trade with the talented Kinzaibatsu91 on Tumblr!
1. Part 1

_**A/N **_**Another project I get to do with Kin! This is the BodySwitch AU, in which Ruby and Cinder switch bodies, awesome right? Just an art/fic trade that I can't wait to dive into, so, let's get started. **

**~Hope this works Kino!~**

People say that having a proper daily routine is the chief way to maintain a balance between life's ups and downs. It offers an organized plan that remains the same and is, for the most part, resilient to faltering.

Such was the case with Weiss Schnee; as planning and organization were her biggest Forte. Alongside being a huntress that is. She never had to worry about being late, or not handing in an assignment on time because her _routine _offered a straight path laid out specifically for her.

But that was before Beacon, before RWBY, before... Ruby herself.

It would seem that Ruby's sole purpose in the heiress' life was to teardown all of the hard work and organization she had put forth in education, and replace it with discord and chaos.

Blake and Yang didn't help either.

A prime example of this was mornings. Before Beacon Weiss would wake up at a appropriately determined time and took on the day -already knowing what it had in store for her. Now, mornings in the dorm were always... different.

It was early, the sun had just begun to poke up above Vale's beautiful Horizon and bathe the land in brilliant yellows and oranges. Weiss lay in bed, eyes scrutinizing the bunk above her own. With Ruby around; Weiss' internal clock had been thrown completely out of whack. Some days she woke up exactly at the same moment Ruby did, other days it was later, and then there was days like today where she woke up before her crimson haired partner.

She could just sneak up out of bed and slip into the bathroom to get ready, but that ran the risk of Ruby waking up and entering the bathroom while Weiss was already in there; creating a _very _awkward situation that would no doubt result in a lot of "I'm sorry Weiss'!" And/or "Ruby! I'm going to kill you!"

Shuffling on her bed, Weiss gently closed her eyes -Not to fall back asleep, but to enjoy the last few moments of silence she undoubtedly had left.

Her brief relaxation only lasted a few seconds as the bed above hers began to creak and shift, signaling that Ruby was in fact awake and would likely try to-

"Ga-Whoa!"

**THUD!**

"Owwhh..."

Weiss shot out of bed as Ruby had just promptly rolled off and fallen out of her own, hitting the surface with a floor-racking thud. It was odd; as Ruby would always pull off some weird gymnastic moves to leave bed, never once had she fallen off.

Weiss ruhsed to the groaning Ruby's side, looking over her with a worried and annoyed expression. "Ruby? Are you alright?"

The crimsonette shook her head, trying to stop the room from spinning and rid her mind of its current hazy state. "Mrgh, wha?"

_"__MMnnmmmRggnff"_ All of the commotion from the red and white half of the dorm effectively stirred the yellow and black half awake. With over exaggeration, Yang threw her sheets around and rolled over, facing the wall rather than the scene in the room. Blake cracked one eye open and copied the blonde's moves too. Rolling over and attempting to ignore the situation.

"Weiss..." Yang yawned. "It's too early for this..."

Weiss stood back from Ruby's side and glared at the blonde mess on the bed. "Ruby just fell out of bed! You're her sister; you do something!" She huffed.

Ruby eyed the standing form of Weiss above her, and the approaching blonde coming from her right. _'What's going on...?'_

"Ruby? Are. You. O-kay?" Weiss asked again, this time her tone an octave more annoyed.

Ruby sat up rubbing the back of her head. "W-wha? W-who's that?"

The heiress was now visibly glaring at Ruby. "Ruby Rose, I don't have time for games!"

"What's going... on?" She asked again.

"Ugh!" Weiss tossed her hands up in exasperation. "I don't have time for this." The heiress reached for the nearest towel and stormed off into the bathroom. Yang had held back until Weiss promptly 'gave up' on Ruby. With her out of the way she reached the still prone crimsonette and outstretched her hand. "You really got her this morning." The blonde smiled.

Ruby reluctantly grabbed the blonde's hand and was pulled up in a surprisingly strong grip. "Her? I don't..."

"Haha! Sis, you can cut the act now, she's gone." Yang patted Ruby's back before walking back to her own side of the room and jostling Blake from her slumber. 'Ruby' stood there, scratching her head in a completey dumbfounded stupor.

_'Ruby? Sis? Where the hell am I? This isn't my room.' _

"Mhn, Morning Ruby." Blake greeted.

The crimsonette turned and eyed the Faunus widely. _'Who's this?' _Blake continued to eye Ruby, patiently waiting for a response. She was expecting an over excited: 'Good Morning Blake!' Not a quiet and confused Ruby standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"Is she okay?" Blake asked Yang.

"Heh, Yeah she's fine, you just missed the joke she just played on Weiss; like she was pretending she couldn't remember anything. 'What's going on?'." Yang mimicked 'Ruby' in a sultry tone.

"Oh, that's kinda funny. You want to go get breakfast? Classes start later today." Blake said to Yang who was already standing by the door; raring to go. "Sure!" The blonde beamed. Both girls slipped on some more appropriate clothing and quickly left the room, leaving the confused girl alone and to her own devices.

Before 'Ruby' had a chance to assess her situation, Weiss burst through the bathroom door clad in a long white towel. "Bathrooms all yours, if you're done playing around." She spat.

"S-Sure. Ruby absent-mindedly nodded.

Without second thought, Ruby bulldozed past Weiss, pushing the heiress out of her way as she entered the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

"I don't even want to know." Weiss sighed.

_'This can't be, this can't be, this can't be!'_

'Ruby' rushed across the cold tiled floor and slid directly in front of the large floor to ceiling mirror that paralleled the sink basin. The girl brushed the disheveled hair from her eyes and-

Almost fainted at what she saw.

Last time _she _checked, _she _wasn't a short fifteen year old girl with silver eyes and Crimson highlighted hair...

_'What the going on!'_

This made no sense! She said her goodnights to Mercury and Emerald and fell asleep not long after; and now she wakes up, in this girls... body?

Wait a minute...

_'If I'm in her body then does that mean..._'

Oh-no...

'Ruby' ran away from the mirror so fast it looked like she was being pursued by it. She exploded back into the dorm room and was already hurriedly making her escape.

"Ruby what's with you this morning?" Weiss asked as she fiddled with her scroll. Menacingly, 'Ruby' turned to face the heiress. "Quiet, do not ask questions you don't deserve the answer to, Schnee."

Weiss backpedaled at Ruby's odd behavior. "E-Excuse me?"

'Ruby' gave no response, as she was bent on getting out of the dorm room as fast as possible. She swung the front door open and was gone in flash, albeit a 'semblance-free' one.

'Ruby' ran through the halls, she was still dressed in her pyjama ensemble, but right now that mattered null. If a 'switch' did so happen to occur, Cinder, currently in Ruby's body, prayed that the naive young girl didn't mess anything up. After all, not everyone is cut out to be a criminal mastermind; especially a fifteen year old huntress in training.

_Meanwhile..._

_**"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" **_

A ghastly scream of stark realization rung through the halls of the eastern dormitory. More specifically from the dorm room belonging to Cinder, Mercury, and Emerald. The source? Cinder Fall herself.

Sort of.

She currently stood in the center of the room. Dressed in her Haven school uniform with Mercury and Emerald standing by her side.

Everything was so hazy this morning that 'Cinder' hand come to the realization that this was _not _her room, or _her _body for that matter. She had dressed and prepared herself for the day; all had seemed a little off but not enough to raise suspicion.

Until Mercury came out of nowhere and gave her a "Morning Cinder."

She was a little frightened at first as to why Mercury was just standing there with Emerald not to far off. Mercury had tossed her a handheld mirror to try and poke fun, and that's when the ear - piercing scream had rung out.

She was in the body of a young woman with deep contrasted hair and sharp saffron eyes, in a room that held none of her teammates, and was bunkbed - free.

Everything seemed a little shorter too.

_'Oh no! What's going on! Why am I here!' _

'Cinder' still stood there, centered in the room and holding the mirror in a shaky grip. 'Her body' completely locked in fear and confusion.

"What're your trying to do? Wake up the dead?" Mercury whined, still recovering from 'Cinder's' odd outburst.

Her mouth flapped open and closed like a fish, "I...I...I, what? I d-don't... is this..." She sputtered.

"Are you okay?" Emerald asked, somewhat worried.

_'I gotta get outta here!' _

"Uhhm, o-of course I'm okay! Me? Totally fine." 'Cinder' spoke loudly, in a tone that was at least a few pitches higher than normal.

"Stop acting all weird, you're creeping me out." Mercury complained once more.

"S-Sorry." The ebony-haired girl muttered. "I'm gonna... go?"

_'I'll use my semblance!'_

'Cinder' bent forward into a sprinting stance, the girl brought her hands back and prepared to dash out of the room at Mach speed. Both Mercury and Emerald watched in bewilderment as Cinder dashed forward and-

Slipped on the oak floors and crashed into the door face first.

Mercury exploded with laughter. "Ppfftt, wow, seriously; whatever's wrong with you better stay because it is hilarious!"

Emerald glared at the silver - haired boy before rushing over the downed 'Cinder's' side. She instinctively reached out a helping hand to 'Cinder' but the young woman rolled out from underneath the crimson eyed girl and dahsed out the door, rubbing her head the whole way.

"Do you think she's okay? It's kinda weird." Emerald winced as the door slammed shut.

Mercury was unable to respond, still rolling on the floor in a laughing stupor at what his cunning and brilliant, criminal-mastermind leader just did.

It wasn't everyday you got to see Cinder crash face first into a door.

'Cinder' rushed through the halls, her quest? Get back to the _proper _dorm room ASAP and figure out what on Remnant was going on! She continued to run massaging the spot that would no doubt bruise on her head.

_'This is probably just a bad dream.'_

To try and prove so, 'Cinder' brought her palm up to her shoulder and gave it the most pleading and painful pinch possible.

Nothing.

_'Oh no, oh no! What am I gonna do? What if they don't believe me? _

A much more important question crossed her mind;

_'What if I'm stuck like this... forever?'_

She didn't even want to think about that. 'Cinder' rounded a corner and bumped into another student, effectively knocking them to the floor. "Sorry!" She called out over her shoulder.

She focued her gaze forward, only to be met by...

Herself.

'Cinder' and 'Ruby' both came to a sudden halt. Both girls now looking at each-other in complete bewilderment.

"You. Did you do this?" 'Ruby' seethed.

"W-What? What'd I do?" 'Cinder' retorted.

The crimsonette facepalmed. "It appears we've switched bodies, and I want to know if you had anything to do with it."

The taller girl crossed her arms. "Wait so you and I..."

"Yes."

"And we're..."

"Yes."

"O-Kay... what're we gonna do? We should tell someone!" 'Cinder' panicked.

"No!" _'That's the last thing I need.' _'Ruby' thought. "Just... keep quiet. We'll figure this out in time, and handle it ourselves; for now, just..."

"Just what, just what?!" 'Cinder' was visibly freaking out at this point.

'Ruby' thought of a plan, or rather, the first thing that came to mind. "We can't raise suspicion, so you're going to have to act like me, and il, have to act like you."

"Okay, and how do I do that?" 'Cinder' pleaded.

"Well~..." _'Here we go...'_


	2. Part 2

**Quick thing: I'm not sure if this will have some Romance added in [It probably will], but if it does; expect it to be hilarious. From here on, this will be a combination of Kino's ideas/drawings, my ideas, and your ideas. So don't hesitate to drop an idea. Read on.**

Part 2. Practice.

"Okay, and how do I do that?" 'Cinder' pleaded.

"Well, first of all; settle down a bit. You're only making it-"

_"Hey Ruby!" _

'Ruby' checked over her shoulder, eyes locking onto the source of the voice that had just interrupted her. Weiss was standing at the end of the corridor, arms crossed and eyeing her down sternly.

"Oh no! It's Weiss." Cinder cried.

"Look, we'll meet up later to discuss this, keep quiet around Mercury and Emerald. I don't want to draw any unwanted attention." Ruby spoke sternly.

"B-But what am I supposed to do?" Cinder was already panicking again.

Ruby stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Just... think before you act. I'm going now."

"Hey! Same goes for you, you know."

'Ruby' waved the body she should be in, off and approached the white-clad heiress. "Ruby, you dunce! You can't run around in your pajamas all day. We have classes to attend, and now's not the time for funny business." Weiss gestured for Ruby to come back to the dorm room.

"Meet me in the courtyard later tonight. We'll talk there. Understood?" She called out again.

'Cinder' gave a nervous nod to answer Ruby's question, and not soon after; Weiss began the process of dragging Ruby back to team RWBY's dorm room.

"Why did you run off like that? And, more importantly; who was that girl?" Weiss continued pulling on 'Ruby's' wrist.

"Is that all of your questions, or will there be more?" Ruby spoke, her words laced with malice.

"What's your problem?" Weiss recoiled. "You've been acting- ow!"

Ruby promptly yanked her way out of the grip the heiress had on her wrist, effectively pulling her to the side and pushing her against a wall. Ruby stepped up to the heiress and brought her face inches from hers. "I'll ask again. Anymore questions?"

"N-No." Weiss choked out, largely awed by her leaders strange, almost opposite behavior.

"Good, now let's go." Ruby's demeanor twisted into a soft smile before she relinquished her grip on Weiss and carried on back towards the dorm. _'Too easy' _she mulled.

A short, quiet walk later, Ruby returned to the dorm room first with Weiss not too far behind. The first thing she took note of was the return of Blake and Yang. Both of them finishing their morning routines and getting ready for a slew of classes ahead of them.

"Hey guys!" Yang waved.

"Uh, Yang? Where's Zwei?" Weiss asked, noticing the absence of her four legged companion.

"He's over at JNPR's room remember?"

"Oh, right." A door closed on the far side of the room, displaying that Ruby had entered the dorms powder room. Hopefully to prepare for today's classes. Weiss had been so adamant about this specific day because there was a mid-term test in Oobleck's Historical studies class.

And when it came to school work; it was neither here nor there for Ruby.

Not soon after Ruby emerged from the restroom fully dressed in her Beacon uniform, bar her cape/hood that is.

"Good, you're ready. Now let's go, I don't want to be late for today's test." Weiss gestured by the door.

"Hey Ruby?" Yang butted in. The girl turned around to face the blonde. Yang stood there -arms wide open. "Good luck hug?" She smiled.

Ruby flashed Yang an expression as plain as day, "No, keep to yourself."

The blonde's cheery mood was torn in half by her sisters rude comment. She slumped forward and turned away from them. 'Ruby' rolled her eyes at the saddened blonde and followed Weiss out of the dorm room.

"What was that about? You never turn down your sisters hugs."

Ruby grinned mischievously. "Well... today things are a little... different, Schnee."

"O-Kay." Weiss started to feel nervous as to how Ruby was acting. She oust those thoughts quickly however; as she had a very important test to ace. She had tried to get Ruby to study -but the girl was just so thick headed sometimes. Usually their sessions would end up with Ruby going into a sugar-coma, or Weiss reaching the end of patience and giving up.

She just hoped Ruby would pass.

_Meanwhile..._

'Cinder' tip toed down the dormitory hallways, it was still early enough in the morning to warrant some other students sleep, so she tried to remain as quiet as possible. In her mad dash to find Ruby; the route back to her respective dorm room was unknown. She didn't know the room number or which hallway it was located in.

"Oh no..." She sighed nervously. 'Cinder' honestly had no idea what to do. _'Does she have classes? Missions? Wait, classes! I don't know any of the senior stuff! What am I gonna do!?'_

She kept up her aimless walking, not knowing where to go was already sending her into another panic fit.

"Okay... Just relax." 'Cinder' shook her body, trying to ease herself from panicking.

_"Would you shut-up. I think she went this way."_

Cinder stalled on the spot at the voice ringing out from around the corner. _'Emerald'_

As the voice grew closer and footsteps louder, Cinder planted herself inside the doorframe of the nearest dorm room, hoping it would mask her presence.

"C'mon, that was pretty funny." Mercury laughed.

Suddenly the footsteps stopped. Cinder's eyes went wide as sweat beaded on her forehead. She ceased her breathing and forced herself

"She probably went outside or something, this way." She heard Mercury point out.

_'Please don't be this way, Please don't be this way, Please don't be this way' _

The footsteps dulled off from loud clicks, to soft pitter patter and faded off down the opposite hallway.

"Yes!" 'Cinder' whisper - shrieked. She peeled herself from the door and let out a long breath. With crisis averted, 'Cinder' decided to resume her mission to find her dorm room.

After what seemed like an eternity, 'Cinder' finally managed to find the dorm room she'd be staying in for an unknown amount of time. She lurched inside and slammed the door behind her.

_'Just do what Cinder would do._ _can't be that hard right? Oh who am I kidding, I can't-' _she was cut from her thoughts by an audible growl from her stomach, reminding her that she hadn't eaten yet this morning.

_"I guess I could eat. Just hope no one sees me."_

_**######**_

"Alright children, I assume you all studied for today's test, yes?" Oobleck called from the front of the lecture hall. In his right hand was a stack of papers, and in his left was his trademark coffee cup.

The room fell silent. "I see, well good luck on today's test, and remember; failure is not an option." His tone dropped to dead serious at the end of his sentence. In a handful of quick movements; Oobleck had successfully handed out the tests and resumed his place at the front of the room.

'Ruby' looked down at the sheets placed in front of her. _'This girls got it easy'_. She mulled over her options; either she could completely flunk the test just to spite the girl who _should _be writing it, or; pass the thing with flying colors and irritate Weiss even further.

_'That girl is awfully entertaining when she's mad...' _

Mind made up, 'Ruby' put pen to paper and got down to work, burning through each question like nothing. Occasionally Weiss would glance over to see how she was doing, and in turn 'Ruby' would pretend to scribble all over the paper, pushing Weiss into a silent rage.

Halfway through the period, 'Ruby' dramatically slammed her pen down and took her sheet over to Dr. Oobleck.

"Mrs. Rose, you're finished already?" He inquired.

"Of course I am, why wouldn't I?" She didn't even wait for him to respond before turning around and heading back to her seat.

"Ruby." Weiss whispered. "Are you serious, that was a big test, you're going to flunk."

The Crimson - haired girl leaned back in her seat. "Don't worry Weiss, everything will be just fine~"

She continues to watch the silent classroom around her.

_'Hm, I could get used to this...'_

_**######**_

"Yes, finally." 'Cinder' exclaimed. She had just returned from the canteen. Her original plan involved getting something to eat and then hopefully finding a hidden spot to eat in.

And it would've worked... if Mercury and Emerald hadn't shown up.

She had to duck behind tables and other students to avoid a confrontation with those two -mostly because she wouldn't know what to say _or _do.

So 'Cinder' grabbed as many cookies as one small plate could carry, and rushed back to the dorm room to eat. This place had been the best option; as the last she saw of Mercury and Emerald was them browsing through the various types of food Beacon had to offer.

Or so she thought.

'Cinder' set the plate down on a nearby study table and took residence next to it. She stood there, eyes drinking in the mouth watering sight in the table. Would the real Cinder eat cookies like a mad woman?

Who cares.

As if she was testing the proverbial waters, 'Cinder' dutifully grasped the first cookie residing at the top of the heap. She brought it up to her lips and nibbled it carefully.

Gentle nibbles quickly escalated, as she started reveling in the all to familiar taste of a delectable cookie. Within seconds, 'Cinder' voraciously devoured one cookie after the other.

Whether it be this body or her own; she was reduced to an animal when cookies were brought into the equation.

In her stupor, she failed to realize the two awestruck individuals coming in from the doorway. Both of them standing in confusion and humor at what their 'brilliant' boss was doing.

"C-Cinder?" A familiar voice called out.

Uh oh.

Seemingly carved from stone, 'Cinder' gulped down the contents in her mouth and turned to face Emerald.

"Uhh..." was all she could muster.

"Are you eating cookies?" Mercury questioned, visibly trying to stifle a laugh.

"What? No." She absent - mindedly swiped the plate off of the table behind her. "Why would you ask that?"

"Well there's crumbs all over your top, and you're still chewing."

She gulped again. "No I'm not."

Emerald looked to Mercury to see his reaction on the situation. He took note of this and looked back at her. "What? I'm just mad she didn't save me any." He joked. The kickboxer walked over towards Cinder and stood at her side. "If she wants to act all crazy than let her."

'Cinder' glared at him and pushed him back. "I'm not crazy, you... you jerk!"

Just like before, Mercury was on the floor in a fit of laughter, all at the expense of Cinder's poor comeback.

Emerald decided the best course of action was to just leave and deal with it later. The scene she left to was a chortling Mercury and a pouting Cinder.

Emerald could feel a headache coming on. Gently massaging her temples her mind could only bring one coherent thought together;

_'What is going on today?'_

_**######**_

Nightfall had come to Beacon Academy. Remnants shattered moon hung high above the eastern dormitories courtyard. 'Ruby' sat impatiently on the courtyards fountain, waiting for the real her to show up.

It wasn't long before she heard the irregular clicking of heels on concrete followed by muffled groans and sighs. Now standing; 'Ruby' shifted around to face the person she'd been waiting for. "Red, what is this?" 'Ruby' shouted a little. For unknown reasons, that girl had decided to wear the dress and heels rather than the perfectly normal and comfortable, Haven uniform. 'Cinder' approached, tripping on the heels and... scratching at her sides?

"Hey." She whispered.

"You don't have to whisper. We're alone."

"Oh." 'Cinder' continued to scratch at her sides. "Gah, why's this thing so itchy?"

"It's never itchy on me, or you... whatever." Upon closer examination 'Ruby' instantaneously realized the source of the itching...

"You... you have the dress on inside out." She facepalmed.

"Oooh, hehe, whoops."

"..."

"So why'd you want to meet out here?"

"We need to learn how to act like each other until we, or I, solve this."

"What!?" 'Cinder' recoiled. "What do you mean 'I', _we _are in this together. I can help too."

"Fine. So to start, we must-" 'Ruby' promptly stopped speaking at the sound of scratching again.

"Look, go change now before you rip my dress."

"Okay!" 'Cinder' beamed, most likely to be happy of getting out of the dress she had no idea why she put on in the first place.

"Don't smile like that!"

"Sorry..."

_'It's going to be a long night.'_

**:You guys want trash? kin-kytrash is the blog to follow. Kino's blog dedicated to the trash we all love. Check out both our blogs for updates and art for this. **

**More to follow!**


	3. Part 3

_**A/N **_**Man I am so sorry for not updating this in months. More so for giving you such a small chapter. My schedule has been tight, but I really wanted to let all of you know I'm still doing this. Updates for this will be random, but hopefully weekly. They'll be shorter as well, again I apologize :/**

**From here on out I'm removing the apostrophes so, instead of 'Cinder' and 'Ruby' you'll just see Cinder and Ruby. Just remember: Cinder is Ruby and Ruby is Cinder. Much easier this way.**

Part 3. Hands On

"Go. Again." Ruby seethed. The body-swapped duo now found themselves in the library. It being later at night meant less prying eyes trying to figure out why a young girl was teaching a grown woman how to walk properly.

Cinder, now in her Haven school uniform, stood straight and rigid. "Like this?" She questioned. The ebony-haired woman sashayed up the non-fiction section with an extreme exaggeration in hip-sway.

"How was that?" Cinder asked.

"You make me look like a fool." Ruby spat. She dropped her head down onto the desk, making a decent 'thud' in the process. They'd been doing this for countless hours now. With basically no progress at all.

One step forward, two steps back was the best way to sum it up.

Ruby would show Cinder how to do something, Cinder would fail miserably at it, and so on. As much as Ruby hated her situation, she was sure she could handle this... body much better than her former. It was aggravating no less. There was no way in _hell _she'd let that girl leave here in _her _body acting like a bumbling fool. Reputation was everything, especially when you've got a less than desirable organization to operate.

So Ruby continued to watch, well, herself prance up and down the section. "For the eleventh time..." The crimsonette sighed, "I don't walk like that. Just watch me-" Ruby stood up, straightened her posture and glided down the Isle. One smooth footstep after the other. "See, you're over-complicating it."

"W-Well it's harder than it looks!" Cinder huffed. "I mean w-with your long legs a-and your shoes, and don't even get me started on your... y-your..." she trailed off, thoughts wandering off to what she had found in Cinder's dorm room dresser a few minutes ago.

"My what?" Ruby tutted.

"Uh... long story s-short, I'm r-really uncomfortable in what I'm wearing right now..." Cinder muttered. "P-Plus it's not fair! You've been lecturing me for hours now. When is it my turn?"

Ruby winced a hearing such a whiny tone, "Turn? Oh Red." She laughed. "What is there to learn?"

Cinder put a finger to her chin and went off in deep thought, "Hmm... oh! How about this: a... hot plate of cookies just falls in your lap; show me your reaction."

"Yay... what a delight." Ruby droned.

"Ha! See you can't be me either!" Cinder said triumphantly.

"Keep it down." Ruby hissed. Stormy eyes darted around the empty library. "The last thing we need is for someone to find us."

"Fine but I think -mm-pf." Cinder's tone had remained the same, so Ruby had reached up and placed her palm over Cinder's mouth. "It's... obvious you're going to need more work than me." Ruby withdrew her hand and stood back. "We shall remain here until I see you're competent enough to leave. Now-" she swayed over to a nearby worktable, pulled out a chair and sat down. "Where were we?"

Cinder let out a throaty and annoyed sigh. She sauntered to the end of the section in a slump and attempted "The walk" for the umpteenth time.

For one reason or another, Cinder had a feeling of pride wash over her. Internally patting herself on the back for being able to retain her same attitude while still getting the point across, all while in a tiny, adorable girls body. Not to mention how precarious the situation had been.

She watched... Ruby (herself?) as she continued to go up and down the literary section. She winced when she couldn't count on her fingers how many times the walk failed. However as the night tore on, she was slowly but surely getting better.

_'It only took four hours...'_

Even then, the walk _still _hadn't been perfected. But there was bigger fish to fry, as far as Ruby was concerned; tonight was going to be a long night.

"Alright. Enough... walking. Let's try talking." Ruby stood up and addressed Cinder.

"O-kay, I'm pretty sure I know how to talk."

"Is that so? Well then here's a scenario: pretend I'm Emerald and I've just woken up. How do you address me?" Ruby laid out the pretend scenario. Cinder took a small breath and began, "Uhh, morning Emerald! How'd you sleep?" The ebony-haired woman's voice was one too many octaves higher than Ruby deemed acceptable.

"Ugh, no no. Not how _you _or... me... or... whatever would do it."

"W-What?" Cinder questioned. Perplexed by Ruby's poor explanation.

"Just think how _I _would say it. Try again." Ruby forgave Cinder and allowed her to have another go at it.

"A-hem. Well heey theree Emeraald. Sleep okayy?" Cinder's tone had dropped to an almost manly state, dragging out almost all of the vowels in each word.

"Oh, come, on. This isn't fair." Cinder whined, "Can't I teach you at least one thing?" The woman put on a pouty face. It was effective, but not as effective as it could've been if they were in their proper bodies.

"I'm not some pet you just teach. But fine. This shouldn't take long anyway." Ruby slyly replied.

"Kay, since we're on the morning topic, you enter the cafeteria and... well get breakfast. What would i, or you, get?" The woman explained.

"I don't eat breakfast." Ruby stated plainly.

"What?!" Cinder backpedaled, stunned by what was just said. "How could you not eat breakfast?"

"In my line of work there's... simply a lack of time for such events."

"Time, shmime. You're just gonna have to get used to it. Plus you're a student aren't you? What'd you mean by 'Line of work?'"

Ruby scrounged for an answer, obviously not wanting the truth come out. "Nevermind. We need to wrap this up soon."

"Yeah, Yang and Weiss are probably looking for you." Cinder couldn't help but smile. Glad she didn't have to deal with people constant shadowing over her. Not in this body.

"Children..." Ruby sighed. "Look, we meet up here tomorrow evening. Just make sure no one finds out in the meantime."

"Right." Cinder nodded.

Ruby rolled her eyes at the happy look plastered on Cinder's face before taking off in the opposite direction. For the first time in a long time, she felt worry wash over her. There was just too much to chance in the situation. If that girl messed anything up regarding her plans here at Beacon, the repercussions were possibly detrimental.

Cinder held far differing thoughts about their situation. It was slightly frightening to be in such an older position, but on the flip-side; it was a challenge. One she really wanted to overcome. Cinder tried to make most of what she was given, so why not make it a little fun?

So long as they both kept it among themselves, Cinder and Ruby could work together to overcome such an odd scenario.

But their secrecy may have already been lost.

_10 minutes earlier..._

If there was one thing Weiss Schnee hated more than poor grades, it was being late. No matter the context the heiress would always go out of her way to be early -or at the very least- on time. She held a pretty good track record as well, never late for a single thing in her entire lifetime.

What was an intense late-night study session, quickly morphed into one of those "out of her way" situations. She had borrowed a book from the library a few days earlier and tomorrow was the deadline to return it. And seeing as her study time had finished roughly fifteen minutes before midnight, Weiss had all but stormed out of the room and down to Beacon's extravagant library. Hellbent on returning the book _on time._

The heiress rushed down the final corridor that led to the library. She didn't have a clue as to why it remained open so late, but that was a factor currently playing into her hand. So she decided not to question it further.

The white-haired girl made the final turn and stalked into the eerily quiet library. Her wedged heels making a soft pitter-patter on the shorn carpet. She came up to a small chute next to the main reception desk, opened it, and deposited the book inside it.

With a content smile and a small yawn, Weiss commenced her trip back to the dorm room. Just as she got passed the reception desk, a familiar and faint voice caught her attention.

_"Look, we meet up here tomorrow evening. Just make sure no one finds out in the meantime."_

_"Right." _

Weiss froze. She immediately identified the first voice as Ruby's. And the second was that Cinder.

"What're they doing here?" Weiss whispered to herself. She and Yang had been looking for her since earlier that evening. The blonde hadn't ceased in her search, and was currently out looking for her crimsonette of a sister.

Before Weiss could think any further, she heard a chair creak and footfalls heading in her direction. The library was dimly lit, but still bright enough to be seen. Thinking on her feet, she quickly surmounted the reception desk and hid behind it. Once the footfalls had passed, she peeked over the counter to see Cinder turn the corner by the exit. The sound of a door opening in the background signaled Ruby had gone out the back way.

Weiss let out her held breath and quickly resumed her thoughts.

What were they doing?

Why so late?

Why did no one need to find out?

Those were some of the questions floating around in Weiss' mind. But she did have one thing already made up;

"I need to tell Yang."

_**A/N **_**Was that confusing? Idk, let me know if I should keep the apostrophes, or if you guys like it better this way. Thanks for reading, next chapter will be out sooner than later.**


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